Shifting Gears
by Santana1
Summary: Sarah Changes her opinion of Mark


**Shifting Gears **

**By: Santana**

**Author's notes**: This is just a little something that I wrote last year. This is my small offering to the fandom that I still love after 20 years....wow, I feel old. ha ha. And though it's not as good as the ones I've enjoyed on this list in the past, I hope you enjoy it.

This is for little monkees (yes, I spelled that correctly) who keep me hopping and who love unconditionally and for Families bound by blood or forged by friendship. Their ties are strengthened by real life occurrences as we come closer together to lend our support and love.

**H&M H&M H&M H&M H&M H&M **

The sun peeked through the clouds that hung over Gullsway, casting slow moving shadows on the drive, as Sarah made her way down from the main house to her next objective. The morning had kept her busy, straightening the main house, which really hadn't been a hard task since her employer had been away for the last two weeks working on one of his many cases. She enjoyed the rare moments when she had the place to herself, it was then when things were in order that she was truly happy. But with two men running around, those moments were few and far between. When she had seen Judge Hardcastle's bags in the entry way, she knew that the judge was home. Even though she enjoyed her quiet times, she was also lonesome and had missed the two men terribly. Therefore she was glad that the case had been wrapped up, all though to what end she wasn't aware.

It was 10 a.m. when Sarah finally made her way into the gatehouse. It was dark and quiet within the small space. Having not seen its young occupant this morning, she assumed that McCormick, was out and about taking care of the long list of chores that had accumulated during the last case that he and the judge had worked on. Mark McCormick, an ex-con released into Judge Hardcastle's custody, stayed in the gate house against Sarah's wishes and helped out with the day to day duties around the estate. And much to her dismay, he helped Hardcastle bring the bad guys, which had escaped incarceration due to technicalities, back to face lady justice.

Hefting the empty laundry basket on her hip, she surveyed the living area, her nose wrinkling in disgust at the dirty laundry strewn around the room and up the staircase. She only came into the gatehouse occasionally to give it a good going over. The rest of the time it was up to Mark to keep the place tidy. She sniffed back a snort at the thought of this place ever being tidy again as long as that ex-con was living here. _// If he spent as much time doing chores as he does spouting off at the mouth, then this place would sparkle like a new penny.//_ She thought. Sometimes she wondered what the Judge was thinking in bringing him here. None of his other special projects had worked out and she didn't see this arrangement lasting much longer either.

With a shake of her head and a sigh, the older woman made her way around the living room picking up discarded clothing and putting the items into her basket, while occasionally making a remark about dirty little boys that never grew up and how Mrs. H would be rolling in her grave if she could see this pig sty.

**H&M H&M H&M H&M H&M H&M **

Having picked up and dusted the downstairs within an inch of its life, Sarah smiled in satisfaction at her handy work. She still had to vacuum, but that would be the last thing she would do for the day. She hefted the brimming basket and started making her way up the stairs to the loft, all the while picking up even more clothes. She was amazed that the young man wasn't running around the estate naked.

She finally reached the top of the stairs thinking that she would change the sheets first, but was dismayed to find that the bed wasn't empty. With the morning light streaming through the upstairs window, Sarah was able to see that Mark McCormick was sprawled on his stomach in the middle of the bed, with the sheets kicked off into the floor.

Hoping to wake the young man up, Sarah dropped the heavy basket onto the floor. The thump echoed through the loft, causing the sleeping man to squirm and wince. As he rolled over, his face contorted in pain, and his white T-shirt came up a bit revealing his side and part of a blackening bruise.

Sarah's eyes widened at the sight. She quickly looked at Mark's face and watched as he slipped back into a peaceful sleep allowing the pained lines of his features to slowly relax and melt away.

Upon closer inspection, Sarah noticed the black eye, busted lip and the crusted blood beneath his cotton packed nose. His knuckles were also bruised and cut._ // At least he gave as good as he got.//_ She thought to herself.

Carefully, Sarah lifted the T-shirt to inspect the injury, frowning at what she saw and gently laying the soft cotton back in place, she made her way around the bed, picking up the discarded covers and carefully covering the young man up. Then she spotted a bottle of pills on the night stand. She saw that the bottle had today's date so she knew that Mark had been in the emergency room early that morning, and the judge hadn't bothered mentioning it to her. Why hadn't he called?

Setting the pills back on the table, she took one last look at the young man. She reached out and stroked a stray curl from his face causing Mark to smile in his sleep, "Love ya momma." He said, still sleeping.

Sarah's heart melted. _// This is a really sweet boy. // _She thought, and decided that maybe she had judged the young man too harshly, before getting to know him better. With the few that had come and gone so quickly in the past, Sarah had stopped trying to get to know the men that the judge had brought home, knowing that they wouldn't be around for long. Yet still, she knew the young man well enough to know that Mark hid behind the smart mouth to protect himself and that it was all an act. She had seen the real Mark, the sensitive yet scared little boy, peek out on occasion. All he needed was a little time and he would come around. She also knew that the constant danger his honor put the boy in, wasn't fair to Mark....but for some reason the young man stayed....maybe he was different....maybe this would last. Suddenly her whole opinion of this young man changed as did her feelings for him. She knew that someone had to be the voice of reason where Mark was concerned. Taking in his injuries one more time, her face hardened and determination filled her eyes. Her mindset had changed just as easily as McCormick shifted gears in his expensive sports car. It was time to speak to the judge; his honor had some explaining to do.

End


End file.
